2013 QSR/FPI Foodservice Packaging Awards

category:

Innovation in Sustainability

1st place:

EarthPact Natural Grease Resistant Kit 7

Carvajal Pulp & Paper

The entry:

This is a new and innovative natural grease-resistant paperboard made 100 percent from bagasse (sugar cane fiber), a virgin fiber from a renewable byproduct that is harvested annually. It is totally free of plastic, fluorocarbons, bleach, and dyes, and is ideal for direct food contact applications.

The unique light-cream color is obtained naturally from unbleached sugar cane fiber, and the innovative process developed by Carvajal Pulp & Paper gives the material a beautiful, clean, healthy aspect, with a lighter color compared with kraft papers.

Its functional barrier brings performance similar to plastic for greasy foods, with the added bonus that it is totally biodegradable and compostable. No fluorocarbon additives are used to achieve grease resistance.

Judge’s comment:

This entry is 100 percent bagasse and claims the feedstock is 100 percent byproduct. The production process creates a grease-resistant bag with no coatings or liners. It is compostable—though access to compost is low, it is the current available end-of-life option for soiled paper. They also added a sample with a PLA window to see product. I would love to see this used in the U.S. with USCC/BPI compost certification and labeling.